An impeccably structured blend. Featuring a foundation of sweet, tangy Virginias and cool burning burleys, a dash of Macedonian leaf is added to round out the mixture and add a hint of the exotic. The different leafs are then aged as one, in order to marry and harmonize flavor, prior to being pressed into a tantalizing flake.

The flake is a little moist and very easy to rub out or fold and stuff. The tin aroma is sweet honey and lots of fruity citrus. The light Virginia is a tangy citrusy, lightly bready, with a little grass and honey, and a few hints of earth and spice, and some creaminess. The burleys are supporting players offering a slight nutty sweetness and earth. A touch of Macedonian leaf provides a very slight floral essence. The top note of honey kind of reminds me of graham crackers. Has a mild nic-hit. Won't bite or get harsh even when pushed. Burns at a slow to moderate pace, cool and clean, with a very sweet, smooth consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a sweet after taste. An easy going all day smoke.

I took to this right off, possibly due to its resemblance to Orlik Golden Sliced in the red can- another tin that I've been working on that I've grown quite fond of. Unlike Orlik though, it needs some drying time.

Another thing which may or may not be particular to this tobacco, although it brought me here- rub it out. A reliable old Italian pipe of mine didn't show this toback to good advantage when I folded and stuffed. While not dirty, I cleaned it with alcohol and a week or so later re-tried the Brunello- this time fully rubbed out. Voila- magnifique!

There is a citrus thing happening here which I didn't catch in the Orlik, or didn't think I did. Maybe I did though, and hence my attraction for Brunello. Again I'm not detecting perique either, but then again there's none advertized; also an Orlik trait of great dispute. But the nicotine is present- at least as much in Orlik.

While I'm aware that I'm reviewing Brunello- NOT Orlik, the comparisons are hard to avoid due to the proximity of both in my useage. Orlik fans looking for a great variation may well find something new with Brunello, The tin is better eye candy than the image of a Brit judge on a scarlet background, which is about as welcome as a toadstool, but perhaps more traditional than the green floral (grape leaf?) design the Brunello tin is graced with. Stacked rectangular flakes are easy to measure size-wise for any flake afficianado.

Closest kin is probably Mac Baren Navy Flake. This is more virginia-forward, and I find an odd almost sour note (macedonian?) against the sweet zesty virginias and whatever gentle sweet casing there is. I don't smell fruit outright at all. So where Navy Flake moves in the spicy dark direction with the "patented cavendish" this moves more in a sweet/sour sort of way.

In the bowl, it's soft smoking and pleasant, nothing earth-shattering. Room note is nice. To me this is any-time all-purpose tobacco. I expect it to age wonderfully, and am started to cellar this.

Not a ton of nicotine here - a typically Mac B virginia offering in that way too.

Savinelli’s Brunello Flake is a premium crossover. Everything about it is TOP, including the leaf, the blend, preparation, presentation, handling, smoking, aroma, taste (and the price). It's also amply cased, and it’s topped enough to make it important to this blend; but IMO it is not an aromatic.

In a newly opened tin one sees two perfect stacks of well-formed, medium sized flakes. The lot appears at first to be golden but one soon notices the gamut of shades reflecting not only flue cured but also air cured, and even some stoved leaf. The tin aroma is an enhanced, souped-up version of the best of the actual fermented tobacco smells, along with some citrus (orange), honey, vanilla, apricot, currants, cardamom, and a few more I have not nailed down yet. But trust me, it smells good, all right. I started by folding, twisting the hell out of it, and stuffing a moist flake into one of my VA pipes, and I still fold and seriously spindle it, though I found I much prefer it dried some before stuffing and smoking it. When it’s too moist, it’s got a little of the usual-for-aromatics oily and acrid tastes. When it’s just right, everything harmonizes into a delicious, tobacco rich treat. The predominant VAs are very sweet, like sweet grasses and honeysuckle, and they are mild without being the usual corollary to “mild”, which is to say [it’s not], hot. There is also some taste and aroma from a smattering of rich, red VA that adds depth and complexity that far exceeded my expectations (if not my hopes). The Burleys used are nutty but not tannic, and they lend some “volume” and “roundness” to the smell and the taste, alike, along with a little cocoa (or is this the topping?). The Macedonian leaf is excellent, like very faint, Middle Eastern lamb kabobs, and the lot remains sweet and “exotic” without being cloying. I recommend loose to medium packing, also try to keep it slow while avoiding re-lights. It burns to a very fine ash, so watch the stoking or stirring. Strength is mild to medium, and I doubt it will satisfy anyone looking for a buzz. Room note is truly, actually pleasant. I don’t smoke BF for the aftertaste, since it seems to go flat for me as soon as I stop smoking it, or, if I’m careless, I can make it turn out slightly ashy and acrid. In any case, it fades away pretty fast.

Savinelli’s Brunello Flake is the best crossover I’ve smoked since Fribourg and Treyer’s Cut Virginia Plug. In fact, I like BF better, and the two blends are definitely comparable in terms of quality. I give BF 3 stars on my Absolute scale; 4 stars on my Crossover scale.

One tobbaco that seems to fall in and out of my rotation is this. First you have to open the tin and let it dry for about a day just to make it smoke. Has a very strong lemon grass note. Lights well. Smokes very well. One of the better tobacco blends by Sav. First tried it at my pipe club meeting. Has been with me ever since. Nice smooth smoke. Highly recommend.

I urge every one still in possession of these flakes to give the tin/jar a sniff, I think I know what it is topped with, strawberry! Smells like a strawberry fruit roll-up. Counter intuitive as this may be, I think it is. It also seems natural enough and adds to the tangy sweet thing this has going for it. This is not a Strawberry aromatic though. I air dry a flake for 10 to 15 min till it has faded a little in color but still pliable. It has a narrow Goldilocks, i.e., too dry = burns too hot = bite. Too wet = steam = bite. Not much more so than most flakes, it's a trade off for the fruit juice (strawberry?!) This one seems to like folding and stuffing. The only complaint was in reading the list of contents, I thought I would notice the Macedonian Oriental and was looking forward to a Virginia/Oriental Flake. As it is, if your looking for a nice Euro style Virginia flake with a tangy topping it makes a good change of pace. Looking for a More natural/neutral option stick with FVF, or Union Square. Or smoke all three, you're allowed!

Nicely prepared flakes that are pliable and easy to fold and pack without rubout. The tin aroma is inviting and the sweet VAs are prominent. Didn't sense much influence from the Turkish but enjoyed the citrus/grassy taste from start to finish. Smoked cool without bite or condensation. A mild , all day smoke that will be ideal for the hot summer months.

The VAs dominate the tin aroma. Sunny and bright, hints of grass, but mostly honey and honeydew melon. Seems to have a light dressing of something along those lines-?

I rubbed out a couple of flakes and let them air dry for about 15 minutes, which was plenty, maybe a few minutes too long. Required more than one charring light but then cruised along nicely.

Beautiful smoke with this one; always nice to get that with a lighter-tasting blend.

The VA and Macedonia complemented each other nicely, and the burley added a nice roundness to the flavor and room note. It edged toward sour territory just a couple of times, which might have been my fault, but for the most part, every component was well behaved.

This is a really nice smoke. Nothing to get overly excited about, but very solid.

Tin Aroma: Fruity, sugary sweetness. Its what I would imagine an old timey Starburst candy would smell like.

Taste: Delicious! Sweet Virginias mixing with the Macedonia leaf is a wonderful, savory experience. The flavor remains full and consistent throughout the whole bowl. As a lover of Virginia I am not dissapointed. Occasionally my nostrils will experience a pleasant tingle on the exhale.

Smokability: I found my usual flake packing method to work just fine with this blend. I will tear about a 1/3 of a flake off and fold it twice and stuff it into the bottom of the bowl. Than I'll rub out enough to gravity fill it to the top of the bowl. Char, tamp, relight.

Room Note: Virginia, that wonderful scent that all humans should smell and savor.

Thoughts: I really like this blend, as both a lover of Virginia and flakes. This also redeemed Burley for me. As my previous experience was with Captain Black (which I didn't hate, but just found it lacking and uninteresting) and the shudders Borkim Riff. So Burleys are okay in my book and I look forawrd to trying more of them. I've also never had Macedonian leaf before so theres another one of my horizons opened up.

Reccomended to: Anyone who enjoys Virginias and wants to really experience the sweetness they bring. And to anyone who wants to smoke something that is generally sweeter tasting, this blend should not dissapoint. Summary: Sweet, delicious flake which I could see myself smoking regularly. And I'll also have to cellar some ;)

I think Jimlnks and Greggles descriptions of this tobacco are right on. But I disagree with JimLnks review on only one aspect - in the last sentence of his review. I found this blend bites like a hot, wet, mutha-f#@%ing bi-atch!!

Even after significant drying time out of the tin. Maybe it's cuz I didn't rub it out enough first? Or maybe because it was a very hot, humid evening in Toronto. Either way, it bit the heck outta my mouth and tongue (even with a balsa filter, and got very moist at the bottom of the bowl. Retrohale is very nice though...

Next time I try to smoke this blend, I will wait until the dry winter months here in mid January, and crumble the flake completely first before packing it. Hope that will reduce the moisture, heat and bite.

Lovely plummy/straw tin note, but unlike others I really don't get much more than straigthforward, somewhat bland VA in the smoke. The only reason I would have thought there was burley in the blend is because it's slightly bitey. The flakes are thin and easy to fold in or rub out, and it lights easily but smokes a bit on the fast side for a flake. It's possible the blend might come together better after the tin is open for a few more weeks.